[Closed] Collecting a Trek bike

Yep in breach of dealer agreement if they do that, Trek have closed some very good dealers in the US over it, so I don't think there's an easy way. Hop on the train/in the car and go and get it!

...looks like it - store have said they'd transfer it to another store that's a bit nearer which is kind - whole policy is a bit bonkers in my opinion!

...looks like it - store have said they'd transfer it to another store that's a bit nearer which is kind - whole policy is a bit bonkers in my opinion!

it's a policy that is a double edged sword, it can be a right bummer but serves to protect the company and it's distributors from mass discounters like crc etc

I would imagine in the States it is also to try to prevent "engineers" putting together bikes at home and then suing Trek when they fall to bits.

According to Trek at least it's to stop someone going into their LBS in Cornwall and saying 'X dealer in Midlothian have this bike for 15% less'. The dealer in Cornwall is in a much stronger position as the customer has to go into the shop and pick the bike up. Basically it's a policy which benefits the retailer not the consumer, for better or worse.

It means that when a customer takes charge of their Trek, Marin, Wilier or whatever the bike is in good condition and ready to be ridden safely. It does also protect the dealer base from discounters and stops mail-order bikes being taken for warranty issues at shops that did not supply the bike in the first place.

You may think it a bit bonkers but Trek make the rules on this one and industry whispers suggest that, in time, more and more brands will follow suit.

personally i think it's a brave and beneficial policy and i hope more manufacturers do take it up.

not a fan of Trek bikes but they do seem to be a fairly sorted business.

It also means that you don't get vast swathes of heavily discounted bikes/frames from last years stock suddenly appearing (i bought my Demo 9 half price) and stifling sales of newer models.

It also means that you don't get vast swathes of heavily discounted bikes/frames from last years stock suddenly appearing

Why?

i can't remember the exact reasons, i think i'd had a few pints when i was told

It's a thinly disguised price fixing/market manipulation policy conveniently justified as a health & safety measure

It's a thinly disguised price fixing/market manipulation policy conveniently justified as a health & safety measure

+1

So buy something else?

So buy something else?

I've already bought it!

So buy something else?

I usually do
But I do have a Trek road bike [delivered via mail order] from a place at Charnock Richard

I presume that the road bike in question was bought 2 years ago or delivered by the shop and a qualified mechanic?

Don't shout the name, folk from Trek are on here, their account may go bye bye!

I presume that the road bike in question was bought 2 years ago or delivered by the shop and a qualified mechanic?

yeah, something like that

That sounds like a reserved 'no' to me.

Wheelbase do a 'home delivery service' on treks, with the mechanic fitting/checking set up with you at your home, but you have to pay for it!

Marin pioneered this years ago...mainly protecting teritories and margins I reckon although some dealers are less strict about it than others. Pretty pointless IMO as you could buy one and move home, work away, go to uni soon after so you'd need another dealer to sort Wtee issues anyway.

Get Alpin to deliver it. He can show you how to [url= http://www.singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/i-dont-know-what-surprised-me-more-just-saw-a-brand-new-trek-remedy-8 ]trackstand[/url] once its built up.

This is precisely why I'll never own one. Well that and the Bontrager kit.
mrmichaelwright,

It also means that you don't get vast swathes of heavily discounted bikes/frames from last years stock suddenly appearing (i bought my Demo 9 half price) and stifling sales of newer models.

it doesn't directly but by helping keep bike manufacturers and shops in profit it helps us have a choice of bikes to buy and places to buy shiny things.

it's all just a business at the end of the day.

if someone had told Tesco not to discount massively/use loss leaders/pressure suppliers don't you think the high street would be a far more pleasant place

Sounds to me like Trek are looking after their dealer network. I would presume that they have already sold the bikes to the dealer so trek have made thier money. All they are doing is letting their dealers have a fair fight for business. No one is telling the dealers how much to charge, just that they cant do it by postal service.

Dealer A wants to charge X
Dealer B wants to charge Y

Its the customers choice who he buys it off. Whats the problem?

I like the free market principle.
Whoever will sell me what I want cheapest (all other things being equal) will get the sale. Do we really want the manufacturers to effectively abolish the end of season sale?
Companies like CRC and Merlin are business' too.

but what if they were the only businesses selling bicycles and components, that wouldn't be such a pretty picture would it

No one is telling the dealers how much to charge

not as such [AFAIK]

But by putting in conditions that make the dealers have a high st presence you could argue that they are throttling the legitimate use of virtual shops with their low over-heads & resulting lower prices etc.

It's just as easy to buy something else though

Do we really want the manufacturers to effectively abolish the end of season sale?

Bit dramatic no? See my example on about the 3rd post for why they do it:

it's to stop someone going into their LBS in Cornwall and saying 'X dealer in Midlothian have this bike for 15% less'. The dealer in Cornwall is in a much stronger position as the customer has to go into the shop and pick the bike up

It's nothing to do with price. The Scottish dealer can sell it for 15% off if they want, but if someone in Cornwall wants it they have to drive to Scotland to get it. Again, as I said before, it just means that favour falls with the dealer, not the customer. People really are making this out to be a really underhand tactic, but it's not at all!

Try and buy a Specialized product from the US store, it's exactly the same thing.

they are throttling the legitimate use of virtual shops with their low over-heads & resulting lower prices

I'm struggling to think of ANY shop which sells main bike brands solely online. Although companies like PedalOn do a lot of online stuff they have a big shop and trade a lot through said shop.

Try Swinnertons for hand delivery-

[i]Due to restrictions on Trek Bikes, Gary Fisher Bikes & Mirraco Bikes it is no longer possible to post these bikes with a courier to your door. It is still possible to purchase these bikes through the website but must be collected from the store in Stoke-on-Trent, or we can arrange hand delivery of the bicycle fully built and ready to ride.

Delivery Charges: Will be calculated on mileage from the shop so please contact us for an estimate.
[/i]

[url= http://www.swinnertoncycles.co.uk/ ]http://www.swinnertoncycles.co.uk/[/url]

I think he's already bought the bike and now needs to work out how to get it from Glasgow!

You could get a lovely Weegiestanni resident from STW to pick it up, box it and post it to you using senditnow.com?

Can't say I've ever visited enough to really say

I'm sure there are a good few that make do with industrial estate type properties & rents rather than high st & live primarily on internet sales

Wiggle?

Paul's Cycles are in a lock up somewhere in deepest Norfolk I think

Have you seen how some people assemble bikes on here? have you then heard how the manufacturer is at fault. Companies have reputations, ever heard of Crack-n-fale? or how Commencals seem to have had a few issues. If you leave everything to "engineers" you are asking for even more problems, Leave it to bike shops to assemble bikes. Notice how Trek don't really supply frames anymore.

At least this way you know who screwed up.

Wiggle don't do any of the mainstream bike brands, sell their equipment, but not the bikes.

Pauls sell Trek, ergo they must have a shop presence somewhere.

Notice how Trek don't really supply frames anymore

I'd hate to get to the stage where you can't buy a frame

Re Uplinks point ATB Sales were telling dealers what to charge. discounting was pretty much banned on Marins circa 8yrs ago as was selling them mail order,both on threat of losing the Marin franchise! I used to source shedloads of them as insurance replacements and they were a proper pain at the time. Now to an inexperienced owner I can see the benefits of getting sized up properly, making sure you know how to drop your wheels out etc that a good bike shop should show you, but for more experienced riders saving a grand via Rutland, Pauls etc makes a lot of sense!

edit: double posted. oops.

Trek do still sell frames in the US, there's just not the market in the UK.

They do the Elite 9.9SSL and the Fuel Ex 9.9, just not the Top Fuel 9.9. I'd have thought there was more call for the race bike as a frame than the trail bike personally. But there we go!

Specialized stopped doing frames last year, but have reintroduced some for 2010. I think generally now complete bikes are such good value and so many bikes have proprietary forks/chainsets/shocks etc it's a lot harder to justify selling frames only.

just my two pence worth...

as a consumer, buying mail order leaves you completely high and dry should you have any warranty problems. Far better to support your local bike shop, safe in the knowledge that IF something goes wrong you've not got to worry about getting the bike back to where you bought the bike from. For me, that's worth paying RRP for.

as a bike shop, the benefits are massive. A more loyal customerbase less driven by price. Their margins are no longer threatened by constantly striving to price-match the mail-order big boys with big buying power; thus ensuring they're still in business years down the line when you want to nip down you lbs to grab some tubes, or just mooch about and look at shiney things while the missus is looking at shoes

yes, but rutland is a bike shop (several actualy), you can walk in and buy stuff at web prices, and the workshop is top notch too, even if there is a week long waiting list for them to fix punctures and fix bike shaped objects form ASDA.

Whether we like it or not, the internet has revolutionised the way we shop. The free market to which we abide encourages entrepreneurship(sp?!) and rightly so. If a bike shop needs the custom enough to cut his margins, then he should be free to. Alternatively, he may wish to operate the quantity of sales opposed to the quality (profit). LBS will always do business for repairs, spares etc. I work hard for my money and want to keep as much for me as I can. Theres no chance in hell I would buy a trek at full RRP when I could get a Specialized at a discount online getting more for my money. That would be daft.